If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Comment

Brixham, South Devon, at the weekend. I don't know the story of these buildings at the end of the Breakwater, or why they're now used for storage of all sorts of nets, ropes and so on. What I do know is that thousands of troops left the ramps and piers for Omaha Beach during the D-Day landings, perhaps the buildings have something to do with that?

Comment

I spent only a few hours in Brixham a few years ago and, despite the holiday season just beginning to get going, I quickly had a feel for the place as it must once have been. There is a potted "popular" history of it at http://www.brixham.uk.com/Pages/Hist...troduction.htm where I found three sections of interest. Ships in Torbay is followed by two others of which I found Quarrying and Mining very informative.

Ivy

"To thine own self be true.......
Thou canst not then be false to any man."

Comment

I was getting quite nostalgic reading all those comments on the website. I was walking along till I found the Dempsey Road sign then struggling up the jungly path till I could get to the house. It looks as if it was once a lovely place.

Ivy

"To thine own self be true.......
Thou canst not then be false to any man."

Comment

The heaven for photographing abandoned building must be Malacca in Malaysia. They are just about everywhere in the old part of town, while new buildings on reclaimed land is standing empty.
Here is a few example from a short stretch of what used to be the main road north along the seaside. (Now no sea to be seen from here)

This former hotel is now only home to an array of mobile phone cells:

A grand Villa on the opposite side of the road:

Another grand Villa is total disrepair:

Two in a row:

A Malay style house with Eagles watching the gate:

A lot of houses are standing empty but not abandoned, since they have "To Let/For Sale" signs.
Many with a fairly "abandoned" look though:
This would have been a very nice house in it's days and could probably still be saved.
But at what cost?

Comment

I wonder what is the root cause of not only old property standing empty and unwanted, but newer buildings also. Is it that industry/commerce which was once there has long since moved elsewhere and the population has followed, or the residences are no longer "desirable" because of their one-time seaside location which is now a thing of the past? Or a combination of the two?

Ivy

"To thine own self be true.......
Thou canst not then be false to any man."

Comment

It is probably many different reasons for this I believe. One is obviously the lack of well paying jobs in the area and the fact that there are better prospects in other parts of Malaysia.
Not to mention that Singapore is short of skilled workers, with the wages at least double what they are in Malaysia.

A lot of the Portuguese descendants, (known as Eurasians, or Kristang) has moved out, only visiting for their special festivals. Many of them have migrated to Singapore over the years and others gone there for work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristang_people

We noticed that many of the cafes and small shops were not open, even thought they are mainly owned and operated by Chinese. It looked like there were no interest in catering to the many tourists that was milling around, especially in Jonker Street and elsewhere in China town: http://www.malacca.ws/jonker-street/

The local Malays were observing Ramadan, so obviously most Malay restaurants and hawker centers were not open during the day, but busy after sunset.

Why they keep on creating more land, when there is ample space on already dry land, I don't know. Most of the construction going on appeared to use foreign workers from Indonesia and Myanmar. Maybe they are heading back to the speculative style of 1997? When the bubble burst that time it thew Malaysia into a financial crisis that lasted several years.

We spent abt. a month in Malacca over X-mas and New Year some 15 year ago and it was different from now.
The level of activity appears to have dropped off and the normal entrepreneurship of the Chinese looked sorely lacking.

I'll be posting more pictures from Malacca in the This is Malaysia thread when time permits.

Comment

The opinions expressed in this forum are those of the registrered members and shall not be connected to those of the Board Administrator or Owner. No responsibilities for what members post will be taken, though all posts will be subject to moderation for unsuitable contents. No advertisement is allowed without a explicit written confirmation from board owner. Non-approved advertisements will be deleted without further notice and member name will be banned for a period of at least one full month.